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'Gay cure' Protest - Update No 2

Please, have a look at "Protest against the 'gay cure' conference to be held in London (25 April)" for some background on what we are doing.
You can also look at 'Gay cure' Protest - Update No 1

This is now getting slightly scary but also terribly exciting. As I write, we have 90 people on the facebook group who have confirmed they would be coming. 147 say they may be attending and another 1,415 people have yet to learn about the event!

This is not taking into account the people who are not on Facebook but will have heard of the protest anyway. I know that the Gay and Lesbien Humanist Association are publicising the event and so is the Green Party.

Messages have been sent to:
- LGBTcampaigns (60 members)
- LGBTHealthUK (324 members)
- the Roman Catholic Caucus of LGCM and also the Soho Masses Community
- LGBT network at Oracle
- the Shell Centre LGTB Network
- the TGWU LGTB association

I have emailed:
- the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling
- the Special Interest Group in Gay and Lesbian Mental Health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists
- the British Youth Council
- the gay friendly churches in London (thanks to someone who sent me a link to an online list of them)
and I have left comments on a few gay-friendly blogs that mentioned the conference.

I still haven't heard back from the Police, so I hope everything will be fine in that department!

I don't know if it is a coincidence by the AMO have chosen a very busy week-end for LGBT activists. The NUS, the LGBT Consortium and the LGCM are all having a conference this week-end, so we are doing very well in mobilising that many people. Thank you to everyone who has helped. keep telling your friends!

Reactions
UK Gay News, who revealed the "secret location" of the conference have been receiving hate mail as a result.
Over night, a supporter of the conference's aims has left a (very courtuous) comment on the Update No1 posted on my blog. Feel free to answer them plus please but courtuous too (comments are moderated).

Otherwise it seem that AMO have not cottoned on yet.

Alternative venue?
GAHLA, the Green Party have so far made the decision to not publicise the event to the wider public for fear that the organisers might change venue at the last minute. I personally find this inlikely (there are too many costs and time pressure involved, I think), however, it might be good to think about an alternative and symbolic venue for the demo in case the conference was moved but I am so far drawing a blank (the AMO don't seem to have offices and certainly nothing in London). What are people's thoughts?

In any case, if would be very helpful if someone could hang around the venue on Friday and report if the conference is indeed happening there. I would do it myself but work is gfetting in the way!

Press
Both UK Gay News and PinkNews editors have told me they would try and be there. Sadly both are in bad health at the moment. I will drop a line to the Pink Paper.

Slogans
For those who are feeling creative and want to make placards, here are a few ideas (not all mine, by far, thanks to those who sent them in).
- Love Wins Out (a cheeky appropriation of a US ex-gay organisation's name: Love won out)
- Jesus loves us all (for the believers among us)
- Glad to be gay (cause we are and they think we shouldn't)
- Love has no cure (or you can't cure love)
- gays need no cure, prejudice does
- 302.0 (the reference number under which the American Psychiatric Association used to classify homosexuality as a mental disorder until Dec 1973)

Weather
It is looking a bit uncertain at the moment. Let's hope the lovely weather holds till 4pm on Saturday!

See also
- Protest against the 'gay cure' conference to be held in London (25 April).
- 'Gay cure' protest - press release
- 'Gay cure' Protest - Update No 1
- 'Gay cure' Protest - Update No 3
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